The shell game

You know the shell game? Usually it's done with three half coconut husks, and a ball or puck, hidden beneath one of them. In New York City (at least years ago) the hucksters plying three-card monty were ubiquitous. This was a variation, using three slightly bent playing cards, face down. In each case, the goal is to find the object (the ball, puck, or red ace), while the other party shuffles and reshuffles them.

With my boys, I play a slight variation. We take a small ball or other object. I place it between my cupped palms, shaking back and forth. Then I separate my hands, and hide the object in one of them. They have to guess which hand has the object. For the older boy, he can point to the hand, or say "left" or "right". For the toddler, I just open which ever hand he touches first (though he often grabs both at the same time), revealing either an empty hand, or the object.

You can vary this of course, using plastic bowls or storage containers. Start with just two choices however, to keep it simple, and get your children accustomed to the idea of finding a hidden object. After a while, you can add a third or even more. You can take two checker pieces, one red, one black, and hide them both. This is a bit simpler, but similar to Playing with Contrasts. Mix it up. Have fun. Your kids will love the game.